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The Warren Hunting Smith Library, housing collections in all areas, was significantly expanded and renovated by addition of the Melly Academic Center. Dedicated in 1998, the combined Warren Hunting Smith Library and Melly Academic Center have a capacity of well over a half million volumes.

Collections

Volumes -- 380,000
Microform -- 42,000
Periodicals -- 9,800 paper and electronic form
Sound Recordings
Newspapers
Video Titles -- 5,800

Archives/Special Collections

The archives of The Colleges, on the lower level of Warren Hunting Smith Library, safeguards many primary research materials. Included are (but not limited to) the official archives of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, rare books, manuscripts, photographs, local history and art works.

Reference

Professional reference librarians guide campus researchers to the print and electronic resources best suited to their needs. The reference desk is staffed seven days a week during academic semesters and reference assistance is available throughout the year.

Online Catalog

The Voyager online catalog provides Web access to the Colleges' print, video, and electronic holdings as well as electronic reserve materials for classes.

Electronic Resources

A wide range of Web-based resources are reached through the library’s Web page, including electronic-text databases, Web sites, direct connections to other library catalogs, and our interlibrary loan system.

Research Instruction

Librarians conduct a vigorous program of course-related research instruction in first-year through upper-level courses throughout the year. Central to the program is not simply the use of research tools, but our contribution to the larger goal of a liberal arts education: the critical thinking skills necessary to be a life-long learner.

Interlibrary Loan

Through membership in the Rochester Regional Library Council, the library's student and faculty researchers can borrow from local library collections in excess of five million volumes; through the OCLC network, more than 52 million titles in more than 9,000 libraries are available. Hundreds of statistical, bibliographic, and full-text files can be searched by students, or as necessary, by librarians. Librarians conduct a vigorous program of course-related research instruction in first-year through upper-level courses and for the Honors Program.

Facilities

Twenty-two thousand square feet were added to the library when the Melly Academic Center was dedicated in 1998. More significantly, the library also gained a bibliographic instruction lab, 24-hour study, two networked multimedia classrooms, several smaller microlabs, student group studies, faculty carrels, audio/visual rooms, networked carrels through all floors, and other technological improvements.